Young
by TobiSparks
Summary: At first, I didn't understand why my dad wanted us to move to Paris of all places. Especially with all the stuff going on there with villains and heroes. Then he told me he grew up there and had a lot of old friends there. I also didn't understand how he didn't take me being akumatized the second week more seriously. Rated T to be safe!
1. Chapter 1

At first, I didn't understand why my dad wanted us to move to Paris of all places. Especially with all the stuff going on there with villains and heroes. Then he told me he grew up there and had a lot of old friends there. I also didn't understand how he didn't take me being akumatized the second week more seriously. Then he told me that only through pain can we find true happiness. He could be a real jackass sometimes, most of the time really, but he knew how to make me feel better.

It was just me and him since my mom ran out on us when I was a baby. She'd just shown up one day, slept with my dad and disappeared. She'd reappeared ten months later with a kid and claimed it was his, which turned out to be true, and then she'd just disappeared again. Real mother of the year.

But yeah, dad. Like I said, a jackass. He can be pretty condescending from time to time, and we fight all the time. Ask my friends and they'll tell you I'm kidding, but I've run away from home so many times, I can't even remember. So yea, we fight a lot. But I know deep down that he does still love me because I know for a fact that he would never lay a harmful hand on me. And he sticks up for me.

Up until I was akumatized, I only had one friend, and that was only because our dads went to school together. I was in my room, unpacking when my dad knocked on the door. "Hey, we've been invited to have dinner with an old friend of mine." I turned to look at him. He looked a little awkward like he was nervous as to what I'd say. "'We'? As in both of us?" I expected him to look a bit annoyed or something, but he just looked at me as though I was an animal ready to pounce.

"His daughter goes to the same school as you. The same year too." He sat down on my bed, looking at the huge rainbow flag I'd put next to it on the wall. He didn't love it, but he didn't make a big deal out of it either. I put the sweater I was folding into my closet and sighed. "And you want me to make a friend before I start school?" I crossed my arms. Of course, he did, he always did stuff like this. Trying to make things easier for me. I appreciated it, but the thing is; I didn't wanna make friends.

"Yes. I want you to make a friend. Knowing you, you'll probably do everything you can to avoid talking to people, so I think getting to know Marinette will be good for you." Now he was getting annoyed. He could probably sense my reluctance. "We're going to Tom and Sabine's house in an hour. Be ready!" Dad got up and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

An hour later dad was parking by a bakery. "Where are we?" I asked, not bothering to hide my pout. Not only had dad forced me to go, he also forced me to change clothes. I wanted to wear my hoodie, but dad had told me to change so I'd make a good first impression. As if I wanted to make a good first impression on someone I'd already decided not to like.

"They live over the bakery." He said and got out of the car. I followed, somewhat reluctantly, and stuck my hand in my pockets. I wasn't really paying attention to where we were going, and before I knew it, we were standing in front of a door. Dad rang the bell and a girl with blue hair and pigtails opened.

"Hello," she said, "You must be the Anciels. I'm Marinette." She stepped aside and invited them in, turns out her hair wasn't blue, it just had a blue highlight. There was a small woman setting the table and quite a large man carrying food. I would have been intimidated by him had it not been for the kind look on his face and kinda silly mustache.

"Charles! Hello, welcome." He said, he sounded nice too. Damnit. Now I might just start to like him a little! That wasn't the plan! He set the basket of bread on the table and walked over. He and dad hugged, and then he turned to me. "Marc, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Tom." He reached out for a handshake. I obliged, but I've never liked this part of meeting people. I was always paranoid they were gonna pull me close and stab me.

If dad knew he'd say I read too much. Yeah, right! Like you can read too much. That man doesn't have a clue what he's talking about!

"You too. Hi." Damn, I sound so dumb right now! "Hello, I'm Sabine. It's nice to meet you, Marc." Said the woman. This time I only smiled. An awkward smile that I was sure made me look dead inside. "And Charles, wonderful to see you again." My dad answered, "You too, Sabine." I grabbed the cuffs of my jacket, hoping to get some of the nerves out.

That's when Marinette decided to ask if she could take out coats. _No! No, you cant! Stop saying things to me!_ "Sure. Thank you." My dad said, taking off his jacket. _Traitor._ I did the same and we gave them to Marinette. She hung them on a coat hook by the door. At least I could see them. Something familiar in a new place. It was a little comforting.

Luckily there were very few words aimed at me during dinner. And the few that were were met with small smiles, shrugs, nods, and shakes of the head. The Dupains caught on quick that I really didn't wanna talk. That was good. They didn't pry or anything, really, and that made me kinda like them. Damnit, Marc, you're not supposed to like them!

After we'd eaten, the bread was unbelievably good, Tom had suggested Marinette show me her room. "It's gotta be really boring to listen to us talk." He'd said. "Sure?" Marinette looked at me. I shrugged and got up from my chair. He was a little right, listening to them talk was boring. Plus if I went to Marinette's room I could scoop out small, petty details I could use to like her less.

Spoiler alert! That's not what happened.

We walked up the stairs and into her room and Marinette closed the door which was in the floor? Sure, why not. I started looking and found her room to be pretty nice actually. The decor was very aesthetically pleasing, and the walls were a pleasant shade of pink. The only thing weird was the wall of pictures that almost looked like a shrine to a model guy I'd seen on a billboard on the way. That part was a little unsettling, but other than that there was nothing to use against her.

"Make yourself at home," Marinette said. Yea, right. As if I'm gonna be comfortable enough to act even remotely similar to how I act at home after knowing these people for an hour. But I took a seat, and as I did so it kinda looked like Marinette noticed the wall and freaked out a bit.

Okay, so she's a closeted creep. Got it.

"So you're starting Françoise Dupont High School? Who's class are you in?" She asked, trying her best, and failing to mind you, at pretending there wasn't a shrine behind her. "Ms. Mendeleiev, I think her name was." I knew exactly what her name is, I'd gotten an email from the principal about my classes and teachers, but I just didn't wanna seem like one of those people who think they know everything. "Oh, she's amazing, one of my favorites!" It did not sound like she was one of Marinette's favorites.

We ended up talking about a lot of different stuff, like how Marinette wanted to be a fashion designer, and how I like to write. I totally forgot about the dreaded question that usually followed when I told people that. _Can I read what you've written?_ But Marinette didn't push when I told her I'd rather she didn't. That was really cool.

And in the end, I did like her. And the shrine didn't bother me as much knowing that he was the model son of her favorite designer Gabriel Agreste, Adrien. He goes to our school and is in the same class as Marinette, and I had a slight feeling he wasn't _just _the son of her favorite designer.

When my dad and I got home, I was apparently very exhausted. I guess my social batteries couldn't handle Marinette and her lively self. I went straight to bed, and surprisingly, I wasn't dreading the first day as much.

I went to school the next day in what I usually wore, red hoodie and ripped jeans, and found myself a nice little spot under the stairs to write during recess. I'd even checked out the school website and seen some amazing drawings! Turned out the artist was in Marinette's class, and his name was Nathaniel Kurtzberg.

And, well, you know what happened next. Reverser! Not my proudest moment, but there was something good that came out of it.

—

Thank you so much for reading! Honestly, at one point I was like "Am I writing Marc or myself?" and I think that's a good thing. I like to imagine Marc as one of those types that act differently around their parents than around their teachers and friends. I know someone who was like that before, so I kinda took some inspiration from that. And also the "social batteries" is totally a phrase that my sister and I use in real life, and it's a pretty good metaphor.

Again thanks for reading, votes are encouraged and comments are greatly appreciated ;)


	2. AN!

My computer's crashed, and it's not as easy to write on my phone. I'm obviously gonna be writing, but it may take longer than I anticipated. I really appreciate the support, and I'm gonna try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible!

Thanks for understanding!


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